The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Perry Trimper, Minister of Service NL:

Minister Provides Update on Turn Back the Tide Campaign

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to provide an update on the work we are doing to raise public awareness on the importance of tackling climate change.

To accomplish that goal, we have updated our Turn Back the Tide website to provide user-friendly information about climate change and energy efficiency.

On the site, people can find information about saving energy, reducing waste generation, and being more fuel-efficient on the road. Businesses can find information on reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs and improving their environmental sustainability while communities can access resources on improving resilience to our changing climate through infrastructure, land use planning and emergency management.

I’m especially proud of the section on schools which helps children learn about climate change. We have created a new interactive tool that will allow teachers to educate students on this issue and how they can take action in the classroom.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to advancing action on climate change, and this is only one example of our public awareness efforts. Other initiatives include innovative use of social media and providing training for energy efficient building practices. We continue to engage on the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and will develop a provincial climate change action plan to build strong communities and a prosperous, low-carbon economy.